This invention relates to a device comprising a casing, and a container attachable to the container, and in particular to a device for evaporating volatile liquids, for example air fresheners and insecticides. The invention relates in particular to a device for evaporating volatile liquids from a container into a room, with the assistance of electrical power.
Devices are known, in which a bottle of volatile liquid has a wick projecting from it, and a heater is located in the vicinity of the distal end of the wick, to accelerate the evaporation of volatile liquid from the wick. The bottle, wick and heater are retained within a casing which carries an electrical plug. To operate the heater, the device is plugged into a wall socket.
Such devices are known, which purport to offer control of the rate of evaporation of the volatile liquids. In one device, described in Spanish Patent Application No. 9701388, the rate of evaporation is altered by varying the relative position of the wick and the heater (which typically is ring-shaped). In this patent application there is described a means for moving the container and the wick axially, through the action of a screw thread, whilst the ring heater is kept stationary.
In one device on the market, the relative movement of a ring heater and a wick is achieved by keeping the wick stationary and moving the heater axially.
In another device on the market, a tiltable barrel device is located at the distal end of the wick. This may be tilted about a horizontal axis to alter the airflow pathways at the distal end of the wick, and thereby alter the rate of evaporation.
In such devices, the bottle to which the wick is attached or connected, is removably connected to the casing. During use of the device, the volatile liquid within the bottle will in due course be consumed through evaporation and it will be necessary for a consumer to remove the empty bottle and replace it with a fresh bottle containing more volatile liquid. In order to remove the bottle from the casing, a consumer will first of all remove the device from a wall socket to which it is connected, and then release the bottle from the casing.
However, because the bottle must by definition be removable from the casing, there is a possibility that the bottle could be inappropriately removed from the casing whilst the device is connected to a source of electricity. For example, a young child having no understanding of the dangers of electricity could remove the bottle from the casing whilst the device is plugged into a wall socket. Removal of the bottle whilst the device is connected to a wall socket is potentially dangerous particularly for children who may for example attempt to insert one or more of their fingers into the heater. This could result in the child's finger becoming burnt, or under certain circumstances a child being subjected to an electric shock.